Case report: plant-based haemostatic stops lung bleeding in two newborns
Ankaferd, given through the breathing tube, halted haemorrhage after standard steps had failed.
Bleeding into the lungs is one of the most frightening emergencies in a newborn unit; in severe cases, about half of babies die.
Neonatologists writing in The Ulutas Medical Journal describe two baby boys whose massive pulmonary haemorrhage kept going despite the usual measures, including adrenaline down the breathing tube and higher ventilator pressure.
As a next step, the team gave Ankaferd Blood Stopper, a standardised extract of five plants used to stop bleeding on contact, diluted and delivered straight through the endotracheal tube. In both babies, one born at term and one at 33 weeks, the bleeding stopped right away.
The authors note that no proven drug exists for this condition and suggest the product could become a new option worth studying.
Caveat: two cases cannot establish that the treatment works or is safe; controlled studies would be needed before any routine use.
Source: Sinan Tufekci et al. Treatment of Acute Pulmonary Hemorrhage in Neonates with Endotracheal Ankaferd Blood Stopper Use. Ulutas Med J 2021. doi:10.5455/umj.20210831071258.
Image: Figure 1 of the article, CC BY-NC 4.0.
